


Heist

by Quite Disastress (itrlytiz_quitedisastress)



Category: Lupin III
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:55:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23210587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itrlytiz_quitedisastress/pseuds/Quite%20Disastress
Summary: The beginnings of an infatuation. Jigen's attentions aren't easily gained, but this guy in the samurai costume has him thinking.
Relationships: Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Jigen Daisuke
Comments: 5
Kudos: 52





	Heist

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [this screencap redraw](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/569191) by zenlgata.tumblr.com. 



The job was a disaster.

For one, his hat had been knocked off and was lying in the grass somewhere.

For two, he was out of ammo and unarmed. His revolver had been struck out of his hand a few minutes back.

For…three (twooneblastoff? It was getting hard to think clearly)? Jigen had been clipped a number of times. Getting shot was just sort of a Thing That Happens at Work Sometimes, but a number of his bloody wounds were caused by this…guy in the samurai getup.

Jigen was losing a lot of blood. “Fuck,” he whispered to himself. He was feverish and too cold at the same time. Sweaty. He collapsed from pure exhaustion and as he lied on the grass, panting and cut up, he was able to focus on his fourth point, pun intended: he now had a sword positioned directly over his throat.

The wielder was not someone he recognized, that happened occasionally in the criminal community, but Jigen had a feeling he would remember this guy for the rest of his life. He sputtered and coughed, trying desperately to say something. Not to beg for his life – no, that would never do. But if Jigen died here in the moonlit wilderness without getting in one last quip, his life really would be a shameful waste.

The Last Word. He searched for a good one; maybe something about how he had taken out every other team member, and his boss will be wondering where he is any minute now and the cavalry was coming. Or some kind of dig at the guy’s choice of fashion. Got it. Okay. Here goes. As he inhaled to reduce a man to rubble with his words, Jigen was interrupted by a raucous cough. Must be something internal, he thought to himself. He kept gargling his own blood.

But his attempts to communicate didn’t go unnoticed. “I'll cut your throat,” the samurai said. His voice was deep and rich, like good coffee. The gunman was suddenly, unreasonably, happy that his hat had been knocked off. Now he could he really see his assailant. He’s pale. Jigen could tell by the way the moonlight highlighted the dark strands of his hair that it would be soft and silky to the touch. “That will shut you up.”

Jigen’s lips pulled back into a grin and he let out a rough sigh. He could see that this guy was young. He was impressed with the samurai’s confidence. His piercing stare and the dark glint of his eyes. There was no doubt in the gunman’s mind that the samurai had killed someone; he obviously had the guts to do it. 

Striking.

But the gunman had something to say before this was all over.

“You’re beautiful,” Jigen managed to huff out.

The samurai’s once stone faced expression disappeared and immediately changed into one of surprise, almost shock. As if burned, he gasped and flew away from the downed gunman, taking the gleaming blade away from Jigen’s throat. The gunman let relief from a lot of tension he had been unaware of wash over him – he was safe for now (well, safer than he had been a moment ago), but barely conscious.

No regrets.

The unnamed samurai seemed to compose himself. He approached, with some hesitation, to assure his kill of this dishonorable man.

A gunshot rang out in the night.

The samurai caught his breath and halted his steps. The bullet that sailed in nearly hit his foot. The moonlight provided ample visibility – it was clearly a warning shot.

“Back off, Black Dragon,” Lupin said. “That one’s coming with me. We’re done here.” The samurai was indignant. He called the shots, not this asshole in the bright red jacket. The young man lunged forward. Lupin fired another bullet, and it grazed the assassin’s ankle. “This ain’t a joke,” Lupin said, deadpan and monotone. “You run back to whoever hired you and tell ‘em you did what you could.” Just to prove his point, Lupin fired again, landing a solid shot to a kimono-clad shoulder. Blood exploded from the wound, and the young man instantly grasped his shoulder, hissing at the burn.

The samurai spoke through grit teeth, “Then I’ll have unfinished business with the both of you.”

“You and practically everyone else we meet.” Lupin was making slow advances forward. He didn’t want to kill the guy if he didn’t have to, but such actions against his own were subject to capital punishment.

The samurai straighten up and did his best to regain his composure. His shoulder might be cracked. “So, you have accepted your doom,” he spoke with precision and a calmness that betrayed the pain he felt. “And you speak on his behalf, I assume.”

Lupin had nothing more to say. He fired again at the same shoulder. The samurai, guessing the already injured shoulder would be an easy target, managed to dodge the second shot. He got the picture. It was time to go. With startling fleetness, he left the scene.

The thief waited until he was certain the young man wasn’t going to turn back around for another attack while he was supposed to be letting his guard down. “Jigen! Hey!” Even unconscious, Jigen would know that voice anywhere. Lupin ran to Jigen’s side, looked around, left, and returned with the gunman’s fedora. Lupin gently eased Jigen into a sitting position and settled his head into his lap. Lupin lovingly replaced the hat on Jigen’s head. “You gotta stay with me, Jigen. Come on.” He tapped at Jigen’s shoulder a few times. The gunman grunted, in obvious pain. “Can you stand? No! Wait! I can. Can you lie down? I can get the fiat and just drive around to the open grass and avoid the trees-”

This was all a little too much for Jigen, who was quite tired, and probably closer to death than either man suspected. “…name?” he croaked.

“Oh god. Jigen. It’s me, Lupin. Lupin the third? We’ve been working together for-”

“No. Shit,” Jigen huffed, straining to get a bit more comfortable without exacerbating his injuries. He groaned. “The guy that did this.”

“Now’s not the time, buddy. Uh. Shit. You’re probably bleeding internally. Just stay here. It’ll take a while, but I’ll bring the car around. It’ll be easier than dragging you back.”

Jigen didn’t have much of a choice. When Lupin placed his head back down on the grass, he didn’t fight. He did doze a bit, despite his best efforts. He wasn’t sure if he was good to come back from the snoozes.

The rest of the night and god forsaken morning is only bits and pieces: cool blue night, the pale dawn, and golden morning. Lupin’s panicked voice in and out of his ears. The wind through the fiat’s open window. Being stretched over Lupin’s shoulder and hobbling up the stairs. Passing out on a sub-par single bed. The piercing light that invaded his slumber when the sun came through the safehouse’s blinds.

\----

“Hey, Jigen. Just…let’s take it easy for a few days, okay?” Lupin said, more than he asked.

Jigen doesn’t even have the strength to agree. He just wants to rest. In his hazy vision, he could see a hospital-grade IV hooked up to his arm. Wow. How long had he been out?

It didn’t matter. The gunman didn’t want to do anything other than recoup. When he drifted into deep sleep, he had visions of the stark, full rabbit moon, a grassy field, a blade as sharp as his own wit, and of a mysterious young man in a kimono.

\----

He begins to recover. Jigen’s getting up there in age and his healing factor isn’t what it used to be, but he’s a tough old dog. He’s back to chain smoking within 48 hours.

Lupin is in and out; he does the food shopping and some light intel. He keeps the IV bags stocked somehow. Cleans a bit (but not much).

The gunman eventually takes the needle out of his arm and finds it in himself to bathe. Looks like he needed a few stitches. “Shit,” Jigen muttered to himself, shedding his clothes. He didn’t even remember being put back together. Lupin obviously did the work, but goddamn, how could he have slept through it? _Well, to be fair_ , Jigen reasoned with himself, i _t wasn’t technically sleep so much as a. Uh. A mini-coma_.

Jigen remembered to be gentle and not open up any wounds. He was grateful for a business partner like Lupin. It had only been a few years, but they seemed to...Jigen frowned. Not understand each other, necessarily, but more like they understood the effort that goes into a successful career. It’s bigger than just the two of them as individuals. It’s as big as them as a team.

He carefully stood up from the tub. Ever since he hit a certain age, he always reminded himself to be careful with this particular activity. He dried off with a threadbare towel and hobbled back to bed.

\----

Jigen was awake (and mostly dressed) when Lupin came back. “Oh. Hey,” the thief said in greeting. Jigen raised an eyebrow at him, about to light a cigarette. He was a bit surprised. No trace of Lupin’s trademark manic energy.

“Hey,” Jigen replied.

“You’re...you all right?”

Jigen began to smile out of nerves. This was...awkward. And he had no idea why. “Uh. Yeah, I’m. As good as I can be right now. You. Um.” No, now he was understanding why it was awkward. “Lupin. Thanks,” he sighed.

One side of Lupin’s mouth tugged upwards in a grin. “It’s no problem, buddy.” He rummaged around in the paper bag he was carrying. He located the croissandwich and handed it to Jigen. “You’re still pretty frail. Eat up.”

“Don’t gotta ask me twice,” Jigen said, gratefully accepting his first real meal in a few days.

“Well. I’m around,” Lupin announced, unpacking the other groceries. “We’ve gotta talk shop later!” Okay, that was the tone of voice Jigen was more used to. Lupin pranced to the common room to, theoretically, do some more research. The gunman rolled his eyes.

\----

The shop talk in question also included a bottle of wine. Jigen couldn’t complain, but he found himself getting a little loose in the tongue after he and the gentleman thief had worked their way through most of it.

“I think…I tried to hit on him,” Jigen confessed.

“Huh?” Lupin queried.

“I…I was choking on my own blood and the only thing I could coherently say was a compliment. At him.” To him?

“Jigen, who the hell are you talking about? Geez, you must have taken a few knocks to the head.”

“The samurai!” Jigen replied.

“The. Oh! Ohhhh. Wait.” Jigen didn’t like the cartoonish look of glee that lit up Lupin’s face. “You’re... _still_ thinking about... _him_? After _all that_? Jigen, is there something you need to tell me?”

“No?” _Maybe?_ “I just...I don’t know. I’m starting to remember what happened.”

Well,” Lupin began with a sly grin, “the first thing you asked for when you came to was his name.”

“Lupin, I was minus a couple pints of blood and out of my mind, I don’t think we should read too much into it.” _Please, dear god._

“Glad to hear it! Because I’m almost completely sure he’s the target for this next job.”

“What?!” Jigen said.

“You heard me.”

“For the. Uh…alchemical formula?” Jigen hoped that was what this was all about. He was kind of just in it for the payoff.

“You got it! I can’t outright kill the guy until I know.”

“Aw, and here I thought you were just a shitty shot.” The alternative quip being _And here_ _I thought you were trying to defend my honor!_ But Jigen had already made several references to how he might have tried to pick up a man when he was suffering from blood loss. “What do you need him for?”

“Hm, it may be more his employer than him, uh, himself. Or, if this is the guy I _think_ he is, maybe his clan leader.”

“Lupin, this sounds like way too much work for a gamble. I mean...alchemy, really?” Jigen didn’t like where this was going. He got shot up just trying to track the samurai to what they thought was a hideout or HQ for other possible leads and targets. After another beat or two, he said, “Who do you think he is?”

Lupin paused for his own beat or two, just looking at Jigen with a smugness that the gunman definitely didn’t like. “He’s called Goemon Ishikawa the Thirteenth of the Iga region ninjas. And you can keep that information in your pocket for when you’re ready to cut into him when he introduces himself to you.”

Jigen had to admit, it would be particularly satisfying to interrupt the young man’s introduction when next they met. His arrogance and attire would suggest something like _You may refer to me as Goemo-,_ and Jigen would jump in with _Yeah, yeah, Goemon. I know already_ and not even bother with honorifics or generation numbers. To hear that voice again, to see the fury and might in his actions, to lose himself in those dark eyes...

A slight chill ran down Jigen’s spine as he held a single, optimistic thought: he was going to see the samurai again.

**Author's Note:**

> Written PURELY BECAUSE of zenlgata's screencap redraw (don’t know if that’s the appropriate thing to call it, but good goddamn, do I love it). It is chef's kiss perfect. https://zenlgata.tumblr.com/post/190692852681/no-ones-done-this-yet-right
> 
> I have not seen all of the series, but I do know there are different canons and stories as to how Lupin and Jigen first meet Goemon, and this is mine, so just…well, I ultimately wrote this for myself, but if anyone out there also enjoys it, I can’t ask for much more.
> 
> Thank you, dear readers!
> 
> This is sort of a skeleton for a larger work that I honestly don't know that I have the talent to write. I would like to do more in this setting, but...I dunno. I've never really written fanfiction before. Maybe it's bad! 
> 
> I would like to do spicier Jigoe scenes or vignettes, but we'll see. This is all very new to me.


End file.
